


Blood and Luck

by WayWardWonderer



Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: Bonding, Fever, Friendship, Gen, Healing, Hidden - Freeform, Hurt, Love, Secrets, Trust, Wounded, dying, mission, sick, stabbed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-23 00:08:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14320077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WayWardWonderer/pseuds/WayWardWonderer
Summary: James Bond becomes injured during a mission and is on the verge of death.  Q and Moneypenny step up to aid the dying agent and take him to a safehouse to heal and hide away from any possible threat until Bond is strong enough to defend himself.





	Blood and Luck

The mission was all a blur. James Bond, agent double-o seven, struggled to pull himself up from the floor as he reached a bloody hand for the keyboard of the laptop as a command prompt flashed tauntingly across the screen at the injured spy. Forcing himself to stand up, his shoes slipping slightly on the broken glass shards and puddles of blood on the floor Bond braced himself upright against the surface of the desk with a single trembling arm that dripped with fresh blood courtesy of a fresh laceration in his shoulder.

" _Bond_? _Bond_!" Q's voice called out desperately over the earpiece desperate to get a reply from the wounded agent. " _Damn it Bond_! _Answer me_!"

"...I'm here." Bond finally answered as he forced his piercing blue eyes to focus on the words on the monitor. "Transmitting encrypted data now."

Bond inserted the flashdrive preloaded with Q's personal deciphering program into the laptop and quickly set the program in motion. The program booted up and instantly began sending the encrypted data back to Q's laptop while simultaneously decrypted the heavily encoded and secured files.

" _Should only take a few minutes_." Q stated, the sound of keys being clicked frantically accompanied his voice over the earpiece. " _As soon as it's finished remove the flashdrive and get the hell out of there_!"

"Right." Bond looked down at his side where a massive pool of blood stained his dark blue shirt with a sickening red hue causing the fabric cling uncomfortably to his skin. The hilt of the dagger that was still embedded in his abdomen was enticing Bond to pull the weapon out of the wound, but his instincts told him to leave it be.

" _Bond_? _Talk to me_." Q could hear a slurring and lethargy building up in Bond's voice. " _Are you alright_?"

"Fine." Bond lied to his contact without missing a beat. "Just a little out of breath."

" _You_? _Out of breath_? _Hardly_!" The frantic typing on Q's computer hastened as he delved into a secondary program that was always running whenever Bond or any other double-o agent carrying the now infamous and defunct 'smart blood' was on a mission in the field. " _Bond_! _Your vitals are all wrong_! _Heart rate is elevated, blood pressure is low_... _What the hell happened out there_?"

"Don't worry about it." Bond held his fingers over the flashdrive anxiously waiting for the program to finish. "I'll be fine."

" _Don't lie to me Bond, I've known you for too long_. _You've been injured_."

"I'll survive." Bond insisted with a stubborn snarl. The program finished and Bond was free to remove the flashdrive. "It's done." Pulling the drive free he pocketed it and turned to leave the room, stepping over the body of his fallen opponent in the process.

" _Good_." Q confirmed the successful download of the data. " _Now get yourself out of there and to the nearest hospital_."

Bond rushed through the door frame of the hidden computer room located in the underground office belonging to suspected member of S.P.E.C.T.R.E. As he stumbled through the corridor his blood hand prints lined his progress leaving a crimson trail behind for his enemies to follow.

" _Bond_? _Listen to me, you're losing too much blood_! _You're going to pass out, you need to lie low until_ -"

"Not enough time." Bond interrupted harshly as he forced himself to keep moving. "Can't let them find the program."

" _Bond don't be foolish_!" Q persisted like a little brother nagging the older sibling. " _It'll only take_ -"

"No time." Bond all but shouted, his breaths becoming more and more panting as he fought to stay on his feet and remain conscious all while his body tried to shut down and cause him to collapse. "I can do this."

Locating the room in which he initially entered the building Bond prepared his escape, unsure if anyone else had seen him and given chase. Climbing awkwardly through the window and onto the balcony of the two story, supposedly abandoned library. Weak and unstable Bond had to use all of his concentration and dwindling strength to balance on the narrow balcony to reach the fire escape's ladder to climb back down to the rain soaked alley below.

Falling off the ladder, his bloodied palms losing grip on the rungs of the metal ladder as he descended, Bond collapsed on the cold ground of the alleyway onto his stomach. The powerful drop forced the dagger to drive itself deeper into his body as he fell.

Bond let out a loud groan of protest in response to the increasing severity of his injury. His shaking hand pressed to his side, his fingers resting around the sharp blade protruding from his abdomen and oozing blood in alarming volumes.

" _Bond_? _Bond_!" Q sounded far more frantic than before. " _I have your coordinates, don't move from_ -"

Annoyed by Q's worry and in absolute agony Bond tore the earpiece away and pushed himself up from the ground with one hand and his knees. Crawling through the alley, his clothing saturated in blood and water, Bond tried to get himself away from the building and to the car parked just around the corner of the building.

The sound of his own heart racing and pounding in his ears was almost deafening, the ringing that accompanied his thunderous heartbeat only compromised his hearing further. Sweat ran down his sickly pale face and he huffed with weak breath between gritted teeth as he forced himself to keep moving!

Bond could see the front of the car, the headlights glistening in the streetlamps that lined the roads; raindrops sparkling brilliantly like stars in the sky. Reaching a hand out his fingertips rubbed against the bumper leaving blood stains behind as he fought to keep conscious. Darkness encroached on his vision and arm suddenly went numb from weakness.

As his body went limp Bond laid on his side, the dagger's hilt standing upward from his abdomen. Slowly his blues eyes shut as the blackening tunnel vision consumed him and the world fell silent.

* * *

A strange sense of heaviness overwhelmed Bond as his consciousness fought to return to him through the endless dark void of his mind. Voices. Muffled and distant managed to break through the silence that had kept Bond in such a deep state of unconsciousness.

Coolness over his forehead and face was a soothing sensation and very welcome to his aching head.

Warmth emanating from the bend of his left arm was uncomfortable but not painful, and somehow familiar.

A light and gentle pressure on his hand near his wrist was warm and familiar. Reflexively Bond let his fingers curl around the pressure and felt the gesture reciprocated.

"He's coming out of it!" Moneypenny sounded off excitedly as she wrapped both of her hands around Bond's cold hand in return. "Q!"

A pressure around his legs told Bond that he laying on a bed and that someone was kneeling down on the bed next to him. "Bond? Bond can you hear me?"

Licking his dried lips Bond responded in a low hoarse voice. "How could I not?"

"Well, I see your mouth was left unharmed during your mission," Q bitterly quipped as he lifted Bond's eyelids gently to check his pupils with the overhead lighting shining down into the room. "You fever broke in the night and we were able to give three blood transfusions to replace what you lost. How's your head?"

"Throbbing."

Moneypenny sat down on the edge of the bed and lightly placed her hand on Bond's abdomen that was hidden beneath the warm fabric of her jacket. "And your side?" His entire torso was wrapped in white gauze after the stab wound was treated and bandaged, presumably by Q.

"The same." Bond admitted begrudgingly as his senses returned to full alertness.

Q climbed off the bed and retreated to his laptop set up in the corner of the room. As he typed away he looked up at Bond and shook his head. "You're lucky. An inch or so higher and the blade would've pierced your liver. Can't imagine how you'd go through life unable to have a vodka martini."

Moneypenny smiled and chimed in. "Shaken. Not stirred."

Bond opened his eyes fully and looked at Moneypenny watching over him with a restrained fear hidden in her warm brown eyes.

"I thought you left the field." Bond stated playfully to his concerned friend.

"And I thought you said you were fine." She crossed her arms defiantly as she shot him a smug look. "You're lucky."

"I believe you and I have two very definitions of the word 'luck'."

Q interjected with a professional tone. "She's right, you know. Fortunately the 'smart blood' in your system was able to give me an accurate reading of your vitals as well as your coordinates." Q closed his laptop and looked over at Bond with a mixture of irritation and relief in his eyes. "Do you remember what happened after you threw away your radio?"

"Vaguely." Bond admitted as he pressed his hand to his bandaged side and winced. "If you'd be so kind to fill me in on the details..."

* * *

_Two nights prior..._

Moneypenny had been listening in on the missions as Bond and Q communicated with one another. She had heard the same distress in Bond's voice that Q had picked up on and became worried when she heard Q mention Bond's poor vital signs. Slamming her own laptop shut she hurried from her desk outside M's office and hurried to the Quartermaster division as quickly as possible.

Q had properly locked away the retrieved files within the most secured servers of MI-6 as he tried to reconnect with Bond, unaware that the injured agent had thrown aside the radio.

"Bond? Bond come in!" Q was growing more frustrated by the minute. "Answer me! Double-o seven, answer me!"

"Where is he?" Moneypenny asked as she made her way into Q's holdout unannounced and expectedly. "Can you track him?"

"Yes." Despite Moneypenny's abrupt arrival the Quartermaster wasn't shocked to see her. "I have his exact location but I cannot get a response."

"He may be unconscious. We have to find him!"

"But medi-"

"Screw medical!" Moneypenny defied as she pulled on Q's arm to drag him away from his desk. "Even if they do find him Bond won't cooperate. If anyone can help him it's us!"

"Very well." Q closed his laptop and slid it into a satchel that he slung over his shoulder. "Come with me. We'll take the prototype."

"What prototype?" Moneypenny asked as she followed Q to a closed off garage door at the far side of his makeshift lab.

"This one." With a simple press of a button the garage door slid open to reveal a newly designed vehicle that was heavily inspired by a Corvette. Fast, sleek, cobalt blue, bulletproof and hopefully 'Bond proof'; the car was Q's current pride and joy. Q tossed a key to Moneypenny, who caught it easily and followed Q over to the car. "You drive, I'll locate Bond with my laptop."

The car sped through the streets of London in the dark of night as Moneypenny followed Q's directions to Bond's exact location on the other side of the city.

* * *

Laying on the brink of death in the alleyway Bond's body was surrounded by his own blood that mixed with the puddle of rainwater that had fallen earlier that same night.

Cold and alone Bond wad left entirely defenseless as the dagger from his would be assassin seemed to be slowly but surely doing its job.

Ending Bond's life.

* * *

From his laptop Q was able to easily identify Bond's exact location. They were close, but not close enough. And the agent didn't appear to moving.

"Next left!" Q pointed from the front passenger seat, his eyes still glued to his laptop screen. "His vitals are weak but stable. We've got to hurry."

"Damn it, Bond..." Moneypenny cursed under her breath. She and the agent had become surprisingly good friends over the past few months, their admiration and respect toward one another was as palpable as it was mutual. But like any good friend Moneypenny was easily annoyed by Bond's reckless behavior. "You better still be alive when we find you..."

"Stop! There!" Q shouted as the car neared the alleyway. Spying Bond's restored Astin Martin and a slumped over figure laying face down on the ground in front of said vehicle was enough to send a shiver up the young Quartermaster's spine. "I see him!"

"Oh God..." Moneypenny sighed as she parked the prototype vehicle right behind Bond's car. "I hope we're not too late!"

"No," Q replied as he sat down his laptop on his seat and scrambled out of the car. "his vitals are still registering," he rushed around the car and knelt beside Bond's body in the alleyway. "but he is very weak."

Moneypenny was soon at Bond's side as well. She placed her hand on his back between his shoulder blades and sighed in relief as she felt his slow breaths under her palm. "He's breathing."

Q pressed his fingers to Bond's neck to check his pulse. "Thready pulse." He stated scientifically as he move his hand to Bond's neck checking for any sign on injury before running his hand down his spine. "No cervical vertebrae or spinal column damage; at least none that I can feel."

Moneypenny looked down at Bond's face and saw how pale he was. It was then she saw the red puddle forming all around him in the darkness of the alley. Dipping her fingertip into the puddle she looked at the red stain on her finger and showed it to Q. "Q. There's blood."

Q looked up with wide eyes of fear behind his dark glasses. "I can't see the wound."

"It must be somewhere on his front. Help me turn him over."

"Right." Q put one hand to the back of Bond's neck and the other around his shoulder. Moneypenny put one hand on Bond's hip while keeping the other on his back to guide him more gently. "On three roll him toward me: One, two, three!"

Working in tandem the two MI-6 operatives were able to roll Bond from his stomach, onto his side and finally over onto his back. Bond's limp arm heavily dragged along the ground and rested over his chest while Q and Moneypenny searched for the source of the bleeding.

"Oh my God." Moneypenny's own blood went cold when she saw the dagger protruding horrifically from Bond's abdomen. "He's been stabbed!"

With a shaking hand Q reached out and lightly placed his hand on Bond's abdomen near the hilt of the dagger. In response to the pressure Bond's entire torso tensed. Somewhere deep inside the darkness of his mind Bond was still conscious enough to register the pain of his horrific injury.

"The blade's in deep." Q stated as he retracted his hand. "I can't be sure how severe the damage is. The nearest hospital is-"

"No!" Moneypenny suddenly interjected sternly. "Bond didn't want to wait for medical for a reason."

"It was over the data download! It's finished, we have it, his missions is complete." Q refuted as he returned his fingers to the side of Bond's neck. "He's lost too much blood, he needs medical attention now!"

"And if we take him to the nearest hospital the stabbing will have to be reported. It will be only a matter of minutes before whoever did this to him tries to return to finish the job."

"So what do you suggest?"

"I know of the perfect hiding place." Moneypenny stated confidently as she slipped her arm under Bond's shoulder and motioned for Q to do the same.

"Hiding place?" Q worked with Moneypenny to hoist Bond up from the ground and onto his feet while they supported the entirety of his deadweight against their arms and shoulders. "He needs medical aid!"

"And that's what makes this hiding place so perfect." Moneypenny smugly replied as she and Q carried Bond over to the prototype they had driven. Pulling open the rear door with one hand Moneypenny guided Bond down onto the backseat with the other, Q following her lead flawlessly. "It's been fully stocked with an emergency medical kit."

"A kit? A _kit_?!" Q sounded absolutely astonished by Moneypenny's claim. "I'm sorry Miss Moneypenny, but one little kit isn't going to be enough to help him!"

Moneypenny slammed the rear door and returned to her place behind the steering wheel of the car. She looked at Q from over the hood of the car as she pulled on the handle to his own door. "It _will_ be enough because _we're_ going to be the ones to use it!"

"We're _WHAT_?!"

"Get in." Moneypenny demanded as she slammed her door shut and shifted the car out of park but kept her foot on the brake.

"We can't-"

"I said, get in." Moneypenny repeated herself impatiently.

Q submitted to her command and took his seat in the front. He placed his laptop over his legs as he threw on his seatbelt. Looking into the backseat he shook his head with uncertainty. "I protest to this."

"Yeah, well, what else is new?" Moneypenny reversed the car away from the alley and took off down the street into the night. "We are dealing with _Bond_ after all."

The drive to the hideout was thankfully uneventful as Moneypenny drove at a rather high speed through the streets. Q used his laptop to keep track of Bond's vital signs while looking back at his injured friend over his shoulder.

Bond was laying on his side on the backseat, the hilt of the dagger upward allowing gravity to assist in stemming the blood flow for a few precious seconds more.

Pale. Sweating. Bleeding.

If only M, the dearly departed M who had been the first disciplinary figure that Bond had ever had even the slightest modicum of respect for, could see him now.

"Almost there." Moneypenny's voice was low and her eyes were locked on the tall building located in a somewhat isolated yet prestigious part of the city.

"Where are we?" Q asked as he turned his gaze to look at the building.

"Safe." Moneypenny pulled the car around the back of the building and parked it in the shadows. "For now."

Q looked around nervously at the unfamiliar neighborhood. It was quiet, dimly lit and in an area that he had never had a reason to venture before. Slowly unfastening his seatbelt he slid his laptop into his satchel and slung it over his shoulder while Moneypenny pulled open the rear passenger door and leaned over Bond laying unconscious in the backseat.

"Come on. We need to get him inside."

"I sure hope you know what you're doing."

"I always do."

* * *

Bond regained full consciousness and propped himself upright on the bed with his elbows; the I.V. running into his left arm replacing what blood he lost burned slightly as he moved. Looking around the room, seeing the furnishings sparse and covered under white sheets, he knew that Moneypenny and Q had taken him to a vacated house. The simple color on the wall, the windows giving a fantastic view yet constantly hidden under curtains and the familiar scent of the perfume that still lingered in the air told Bond all he needed to know exactly where he had been taken.

"This is M's old home." Bond stated as he sucked in a breath as a sharp pain seared through his abdomen. "You found her safe room."

"Yes." Moneypenny nodded her head and smiled. "You were right, she did have a hidden room."

Q ran his hands over his face and sighed. "And how exactly did you know where M used to live, Bond?"

Ignoring the question Bond just gave the naive Quartermaster an amused grin and changed the subject. "How severe is the injury?"

"Severe enough to warrant a trip to the nearest emergency department." Q snipped impatiently as he held up a clear plastic bag containing a blood covered dagger. "If M hadn't kept such a well stocked medical supply and trusted Moneypenny with a keycard you would've perished in the night."

"Did you get the data?" Bond asked without blinking.

"Yes."

"And it's proven itself invaluable?"

"...Yes."

"Then in the end my death would've been worth the price."

Moneypenny didn't like Bond's tone and scolded him appropriately. "Is that the price of life? One flashdrive and a dagger?"

"More like invaluable data and a lucky strike." Bond quipped as Moneypenny guided him back to lay down on the bed.

"Hate to think there's any skill actually involved in your work." She snipped as she checked his bandages. "Then all your successes could mean something."

Q had enough. "If you two have finished I'd like to return to my lab to finish analyzing the data, and I'd like to report to M before I'm fired. If you'll excuse me. I'm taking the prototype, too!" Satchel over his shoulder he took the dagger and left the room without another word.

Bond and Moneypenny watched as Q packed up his laptop and huffed out of the room before Bond himself remarked on the young man's angered demeanor. "Q seems rather uptight."

"Well, how would you feel if you were asked to perform emergency surgery on a stubborn agent who didn't listen to reason?"

"Surgery?" Bond repeated somewhat perplexed. "Q?"

"Yeah. He took a crash course in emergency medicine as mandated by MI-6, but from what I gathered he hoped he would have never had to use it."

* * *

"Easy! Don't jostle him!" Q cautioned as he and Moneypenny draped Bond's limp arms around their shoulders. Working together they lifted Bond from the backseat of the car and carried him carefully into the safety of the safehouse. "He's lost too much blood already, and he's slipped into shock!"

"Right, just make sure he doesn't fall." Moneypenny huffed as she guided their way up to the closed door. Pulling a keycard from her pocket she held it up to an invisible sensor located next to the door. A blue scanned the card and a shrill 'beep' sounded off just a second before the door slid open automatically. "Come on. This way."

"What IS this place?" Q wisely asked as he let Moneypenny lead the way down a dimly lit lengthy corridor.

"This is M's old flat. Our late, former M." Moneypenny replied solemnly as she stopped at the end of the corridor and waved her card over a second hidden scanner. A concealed door that blended in perfectly with the wall slid open and revealed the secret room beyond. "Inside."

"How do you know all of this?" Q pressed as he and Moneypenny carried Bond into the room. A light sensor in the ceiling reacted to their presence and illuminated the interior of the formerly dark room showing the large bed pressed up against the wall.

"When Bond disappeared after I-" Moneypenny hesitated to mention how she had accidentally shot Bond during their final missions together. "after we failed to get the hard drive containing agents' names and covers from Silva's goon, M had entrusted me with this information in the event of a coup at MI-6. She wanted to make sure at least one agent, seasoned or not, could escape the potential onslaught."

"What a lovely tale." Q quipped as he and Moneypenny laid Bond down on the bed, keeping the agent on his back as to fully tend to his abdominal injury. "Is it safe to say that there is an emergency medical kit stocked as well as other supplies?"

"Yes." Moneypenny confirmed briskly as she walked over to the nearby closet and opened the door. Inside the closet was a rolling cart containing medicine, monitors and surgical tools. She rolled the cart out of the closet and wheeled it over to the bed. "It's not quite the same as a fully stocked hospital but it'll do."

"It'll _have_ to do." Q corrected cynically. "What's the first step?"

"You. Scrub up." Moneypenny tossed the shaken Quartermaster a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a box of latex gloves.

"Me? But-"

"You have more medical training than I do!" She defended her decision vehemently as she knelt on the edge of the bed and hovered over Bond. Carefully she unbuttoned his blood stained dark blue shirt and peeled the sticky fabric away from the hilt of the dagger. The white t-shirt beneath the blue had been completely destroyed by the heavy blood that saturated the fabric causing it to cling to Bond's skin. "I'll exposed the wound," Moneypenny took a breath to steel her nerves. "and I'll do what I can to stem the bleeding while you stitch him up."

"Moneypenny, I've..." Q watched with wide eyes as Moneypenny pulled away the white t-shirt and exposed Bond's bloody abdomen. Blood still oozed from the wound around the dagger, is stomach barely moved as the injured muscles barely responded his chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. "I've never done anything like this before.

"Neither have I." She confessed as she put her hand to the side of Bond's cold face. A twinge of nausea welled up in her stomach when Bond didn't react to her gentle touch. "So we'll do it together."

"Okay... Uh... What should-"

A violent cough from Bond caused the two agents to jump in shock. A spattering of blood stained Bond's lips as the cough wracked his entire body with violent spasms. Wheezing breaths between the coughs was a sickening ambience that perfectly represented Bond's present condition.

"Bond? It's okay." Moneypenny tried to soothe her pained friend by holding his body down by pressing her hands down against his shoulders. "James? James can you hear me?"

The coughing stopped but the wheezing persisted.

"We're going to help you." Moneypenny told him with a defiant tone. "Just hold on."

"Right." Q suddenly spoke up with a surprisingly confident voice. Dropping his satchel on the floor and slipping off his gray over shirt Q unfastened the buttons on the cuffs of his shirt to roll his sleeves up his arms to his elbows. Pouring the alcohol over his hands he hastily sterilized his hands and then slipped on a pair of gloves from the box. "Clean off your hands and then try to clean the blood from his abdomen. I'll need to see as much of the dagger before I even make an attempt to remove it."

"Yeah, okay." Moneypenny did the same as Q and cleaned off her own hands before pouring the alcohol over Bond's abdomen. The sharp pain of the alcohol making contact with the opened wound was enough to cause the man the flinch violently. "It's okay, James!" She soothed calmly. "Everything will be okay."

"Keep him still." Q instructed as he fumbled through the top drawer of the cart and located an extremely bright flashlight. "Try to keep the wound illuminated."

"I'll do my best." Moneypenny took the flashlight with one hand and kept her other hand on Bond's shoulder. Her hand resting uncomfortably close to the scar from his previous bullet wound near his right shoulder, just above his collarbone. "Once the dagger is pulled out can you stop the bleeding?"

"To an extent." Q admitted as he continued searching through the three drawers on the cart before opening a miniature refrigeration unit at the base of the cart. Inside the unit one dozen I.V. bags of type 'O-' blood to be used in an emergency. "Ah-ha! This should give us an edge."

"M really did think of everything." Moneypenny noted as she watched Q set the blood on the edge of the bed and located an I.V. tube in the drawer above.

"I should be able to find a vein and give him the blood, but if I miss..."

"You won't." Moneypenny encouraged sincerely. "You're good with your hands."

"Well, at least one person noticed." Q sharply replied as he mentally took stock of the supplies that they had to their disposal. "It won't be easy or safe, but I'll need your hands the moment I remove the dagger. Without a doubt he's suffered internal damage and will require immediate treatment if he is to survive."

* * *

Buzzing filled the room as a text message popped up on Moneypenny's phone. Pulling the phone from the pocket of her blouse she read the message as smiled at the words on her screen.

"It's from Q." She stated as she typed a reply. "He said that M is not surprised about what happened, and he wants to see you in his office once you're back on your feet."

Bond gauged Moneypenny's facial expression before chiming in. "And why would M want to see me?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe it has something to do with your data retrieval, or perhaps he wants to know why you were injured in the field and refused to wait for medical."

"Why would I need medical when I have you watching my back?"

"Considering I accidentally shot your front I can thank of at least two good reasons to want medical on stand by?"

"Really?"

"Yes. For one: you're you." She smiled flirtatiously as she crossed her arms in a playfully defensive manner. "And where you go chaos seems to follow."

"And the second reason?"

"You should never turn your back anyone holding a gun. Even a friend."

"A lesson I will no doubt learn in the most difficult manner." Bond's eyes began to close a little as exhaustion set in. "How long did it take to remove the dagger?"

"Almost too long." Moneypenny was visibly disturbed by the question. "We thought we lost you for a moment..."

* * *

"Okay, I have an idea of where the dagger's blade ends and begins." Q claimed as he pulled his hand away from Bond's abdomen, having used his fingers palpitate the injury sight methodically. "Do you have the gauze and stapler ready?"

"Yes." Moneypenny nodded at the requested items on the top of the cart. "I'll apply pressure while you patch up the wound."

"Very good. The staples will keep the wound closed together well enough for me to properly apply the sutures." Q reluctantly took a firm grip on the handle of the dagger and held his breath. "He's not going to like this..." Steadying himself on his feet he prepared to pull the weapon from the wound. "and neither will I!"

Using a firm, controlled pull the dagger was removed from Bond's abdomen with a sickening squeak as the blade, coated in Bond's blood, slipped back through the flesh and muscle from whence it entered. Without the dagger acting as a metaphorical cork in a bottle the blood gushed from the wound in red torrent that stained Q's hands.

Bond let out an unexpected groan of pain! His arms went rigid as his hands tightened into fists ready to strike any threat he came into contact with.

Instinctively Moneypenny put a calming hand on Bond's tense arm as she pressed a wad of gauze into the freely bleeding opened wound in his abdomen.

"Hold the pressure!" Q nearly shouted as he grabbed onto the surgical stapler and prepared to use it to mend the wound. "He's going to try to fight us, we can't let him get up."

"I understand." Moneypenny did her best to restrain her injured friend with only one arm. "But hurry!"

"Hopefully Bond will pass out from the pain..." Q lamented as he motioned for Moneypenny to move her hand slightly so he could insert the first suture into the wound. "or I will."

As the first staples closed the gaping wound the tension in Bond's body suddenly relaxed as he mercifully fell into a deep state of unconsciousness brought on by both pain and blood loss.

"Is he...?" Moneypenny became worried when she saw Bond go limp.

"Still breathing." Q confirmed without taking his eyes from his work. "It's shallow but there."

"Come on Bond," Moneypenny encouraged softly. "stay with me."

It took almost ten minutes for the educated but inexperienced agent to properly tend to Bond's injury. Painstakingly efficient and thorough Q managed to close the wound and stop the bleeding.

"That should do." Q wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his forearm. "For now." Slipping off his bloody gloves he nodded at the cart toward the unused gauze sitting idle behind Moneypenny. "Wrap his abdomen to keep infection at bay. I'll be back in a moment."

"Back?" She asked as she unrolled the gauze and began using it to cover Bond's abdomen. "Where are you going?"

Q held his head high as he turned to walk through the doorway of the hidden room. "To throw up."

* * *

The revelation that Q had pushed so far out of his comfort zone, had been asked to do something so incredibly dangerous, was enough to send a wave of guilt through Moneypenny and make Bond himself feel a tad uneasy.

"Never would've believed that Q would have the stomach for something as intense as field surgery."

"Neither did I." Moneypenny smiled a little as she spoke. "And I suspect he had even more doubt that either of us."

Bond sighed a little, his breath hitching painfully in his chest.

"Try to relax as much as possible." Moneypenny advised sweetly as she pressed her hand to the side of Bond's cool face. "You were running a very high temperature for several hours after being tended to. Q was worried that the infection would've been fatal."

* * *

Wiping his mouth over the back of his arm Q returned to the room and watched as Moneypenny finished wrapping Bond's abdomen in the protective gauze. The agent who was always full of zeal and fiery passion seemed more like a corpse than a still living human being. Moneypenny slipped off her dark brown leather jacket and draped it over Bond's body as a simple act of compassion.

"The next twenty-four hours will be crucial." Q stated in a shaking voice as he stood at the end of the bed. "We must keep him warm and still until his body has the chance to recover from shock."

"He already feels warm." Moneypenny replied in a low voice. "He was so cold from the blood loss and now he feels very warm."

"Fever. Damn it." Q swore bitterly to himself. "His body must be having a negative reaction to the crude medical intervention. Not to mention we cannot be sure of what the dagger itself could've been exposed to prior to being used as a weapon against him."

"What can we do?"

"Right now all we can do is watch him and try to keep his fever under control." Q put his hands on his hips as he tried to think of the next logical course of action to take. "There should be ice packs inside the refrigeration unit along with the blood. We'll use those to keep his body temperature from becoming dangerously high."

"And what if he begins bleeding again?"

"He won't." The shakiness is Q's voice was suddenly gone as he looked at Bond's face with a renewed sense of determination. "Even if I have to clean and sew the stab wound shut a dozen more times we won't let him die from something as silly as a fever!"

"You're right." Moneypenny pulled open the small unit on the medical cart and sure enough she found several small ice packs stored inside. Taking one of the packs she wrapped it up in a clean wade of gauze and pressed the compress to Bond's forehead.

Bond reacted to the cold sensation, but only slightly. Turning his face toward Moneypenny he pressed into the compress in her hands and let out a weary sigh of relief as he fell deeper into sleep.

"You'll be okay James." Moneypenny promised in a soft whisper just into Bond's ear. "I'm with you."

Q took a second bag of blood and replaced the first bag that had already been depleted. "We'll take shifts keeping watch over him. I know you said this place is a safe house but we can't afford to take any chances."

"Agreed." Moneypenny laid down on the bed next to Bond. While she pressed the compress to his warm forehead with one hand she ran her fingers through his short blond hair with the other. "We can't risk losing him. Not again."

Again.

Q hadn't known the full story but he did know that Bond was believed dead after a failed mission alongside Moneypenny. It appeared that she hadn't full gotten over the ordeal.

"We won't." Q reassured her sincerely. "Besides, he's too bloody stubborn to die!"

* * *

Moneypenny pulled her jacket up from Bond's body and slipped it back onto her arms and over her shoulders as she gave her favorite agent a seemingly flirtatious glance.

Bond pressed his hand to his sore abdomen and lifted the bandages up slightly to look at the injury beneath. Several crude yet effective sutures had been used to close the wound, as well as a half dozen surgical staples to keep the skin closed. The surrounding skin was red from irritation while the rest of his skin was pale from blood loss.

"Not bad." Bond complimented as he replaced the bandage and laid back down slowly on the bed. "For an amateur."

"Like you could do any better!"

"Perhaps." Bond gave Moneypenny a smug grin. "But let's hope I never have to find out. At least not on myself."

"You're incredibly lucky, you know that?"

Bond didn't answer verbally. The warm glint in his blue eyes was enough of an acknowledgement for the young agent to appreciate.

"I'm not sure how this report will look to M, but I imagine that by now he's become used to seeing you being completely reckless, impulsive and stubborn beyond all reason."

"I'm certain M will agree that gaining the encrypted data was well worth the risk."

"Only if the data can actually be of use, and not a red herring."

"No." Bond responded firmly. "The data was concealed in a very subtle and minimally guarded building in an attempt to throw us off S.P.E.C.T.R.E.'s trail. Subtly is how the organization had managed to grow to such high power without detecting any unwanted attention for so long."

"So the banquet being held by one of S.P.E.C.T.R.E.'s allies is itself the false lead. The flashy display in a highly secured manor; one that is famous for its incredible security and powerful computers, was designed to toy with MI-6. How ostentatiously arrogant."

Bond smirked at Moneypenny's reaction to the scene. "I'm sure double-o four feels the same."

"Does he know?"

"I'm certain he's figured it out by now. I asked for my C.I.A. contact to play along to ensure that no additional muscle was sent to the library."

"You're far more clever than you look."

"So I've been told." Bond tried to push himself upward again on his elbows but he was too weak to move.

"Rest." Moneypenny insisted as she put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him down lightly. "I'll take you to MI-6 in a few hours."

Able to read the kind agent too well Bond knew there was something weighing on her mind. "Moneypenny, what has you worried?"

"I just..." Moneypenny hesitated momentarily. She sighed and let her hands drop onto her lap. "You risked your life for that data, which means the data is incredibly valuable. What if this is just the start? What if the next time you cross paths with S.P.E.C.T.R.E. you aren't as lucky?"

"Moneypenny," Bond rested his hand atop her own. "I don't need luck if I have you."

Smiling she restrained a tear that fought to roll down her cheek. "I'm just glad to have you back. Again."

At those words a renewed sense of confidence filled her heart, but that confidence was accompanied by a second feeling. But it wasn't love, was it?

Though he could never allow himself to admit it the look in Bond's eyes when he spoke to her seemed to reflect her own feelings. There was something entrancing about Moneypenny, the way she looked at Bond. It was as if the two shared an unspoken painful past that neither wanted to admit.

Secrets remained untold.

_**-The End** _

**Author's Note:**

> Hoping to turn this into a multi-chapter story.


End file.
